Demon Hunters
by human28
Summary: Draco's a Demon Hunter. Harry's an Auror. And the two of them are sent by the Ministry of Magic to investigate some things in Sunnydale.
1. Spirits and Demons

Disclaimer: HP characters belong to J.K Rowling, while the Buffy characters belong to…the producers of the show.

Spoilers: Takes place five years after they graduated from Hogwarts, and Season 7 episodes of Buffy, albeit a few changes here and there.

Summary: Draco is a Demon Hunter. Harry is an Auror. Both are sent by the Ministry to investigate some things that are going on in Sunnydale. There, they meet the Scooby Gang, and interesting stuff starts to happen.

"Demon Hunters"

Chapter One: _Spirits and Demons_

The Malfoy Manor was a labyrinth of passageways and hidden chambers, giving evidence to the fact that the Malfoys had a fondness for building clandestine rooms and endless corridors. Lucius Malfoy had been one to create a number of them, and his son was none too pleased about it.

Draco Malfoy strode down the candle-lit hallway, a scowl set firmly on his face. He was lost. Again. Twenty-two years of living in the mansion didn't stop him from losing his way now and then. And no, he was not ashamed of it. His mother had once told him that their ancestors themselves would constantly go astray in the ancient house, and their reason would be that their house was simply exceptionally large due to their enormous amount of wealth.

Draco smirked.

He turned a sharp left and finally came to a stop in front of a large portrait depicting a broken sword. He took out his wand and whispered the password, tapping the portrait twice. "_Secretus."_

The portrait swung open, and Draco stepped in, surveying his finished construction. He had created this room himself, for the main reason that he didn't want anyone to know that this certain room ever existed. Not that there was anyone else in the mansion except for himself, the house elves, and a few servant ghosts.

Five years ago, Voldemort had risen to full power, and that was when the war started. Both Lucius and Narcissa had been recruited for this big battle, leaving Draco alone in the manor, hoping against hope that they would come back alive. They may not have been the best of parents, but nevertheless, they were _still _his parents. He was made from their own blood, the same blood that still flowed in his veins until now. And although, a tiny part of him wanted to see them suffer, a bigger part of him was not ready for their deaths.

But that was to be expected. In fairytales, did the evil not lose against the good? Of course they did. They always lost. Even in reality. Voldemort met his second downfall by the same boy that defeated him when he was barely a year old. Harry Potter. Harry Potter defeated the darkest wizard of all times, and everyone who worked for him. Thus, Draco was left parentless. His father was dead, and his mother was in Azkaban.

The years that followed after that incident, Draco spent his life suffocating from all the hatred and anger he felt. Thoughts of vengeance would constantly flood his mind, but to whom would he subject his revenge? Harry Potter? That would be hilarious. Draco Malfoy versus the Boy-who-lived-and-killed-Voldemort. That would lead to nothing save for another dead Malfoy.

He spent the rest of his seventh year avoiding Potter and his friends, a.k.a. the Gryffindors, the Ravenclaws, and the Hufflepuffs who would sneer and jeer at the Slytherins whenever they crossed paths. They all celebrated on Voldemort's downfall, whereas the Slytherins grieved and mourned for the loss of family members.

If possible, that episode of his life made him all the more cold and indecipherable. His face was always covered by a mask of indifference and blankness. When he spoke, his voice was emotionless.

He was all too happy to finally leave Hogwarts,. All too happy to have Malfoy Manor all to himself. All too happy to release all of his pent-up anger on the house. Weeks after graduation, a quarter of the mansion was practically torn to shreds. And the house elves would nervously clean up the mess with trembling fingers, their ears shaking as their master scrutinized them with icy-cold eyes.

Draco would then lock himself up in his bedroom, and brood all day long, until a solitary question popped into his head. _Would I spend the rest of my life living like this? _

And that was when his pride got the best of him. _Of course not. _He was a Malfoy. And Malfoys _don't _give up. They stand their ground, and push through all their problems with ease and grace. That was when all the anger and feelings of vengeance left him. Well, not entirely. But most of it anyway. And that was when Draco Malfoy felt truly ashamed of himself.

And what did he do after finally arriving to that conclusion?

He turned over a new leaf. Okay, so he didn't exactly turn into a couple of goody-two-shoes like Potter and his friends. But he did get a job. A job that helped him deal with his anger.

_Demon Hunting._

He smiled in satisfaction at the newly-created room that stood in front of him. It was made solely for the purpose of his job. Dozens of bookshelves filled with manuscripts and books about all kinds of demons lined the far side of the room, weapons of all sorts hung from a large wooden cabinet, and a spacious desk where he did most of his research work.

He wondered for a brief second if his parents would've approved of his current job, and frowned. _Of course they wouldn't. _His family practiced the Dark Arts. Black Magic. They practically _raised _demons. Draco was doing the exact opposite. His job, was, after all under the control of the Ministry of Magic. He was forbidden to use any form of Black Magic.

So, he simply kept them secret.

He was a Malfoy. His blood may be pure, but it sure as hell wasn't innocent. It was tainted black. And it wouldn't hurt to say that he was an expert in the Dark Arts area.

He smirked, and started his research.

He grabbed a couple of books from the shelf and dropped them on the mahogany table where they landed with a loud thud. Not that anyone could hear that. The room was soundproof, foolproof to be exact. It protected by over a dozen spells, and anyone who tried breaking into this room would be as good as dead.

Draco had been assigned with a new task. And that was to find more about the 'Hellmouth' based in Sunnydale, California. Basically the nastiest Hellmouth of them all. He was astonished at first, when he had been given this assignment. This certain Hellmouth was already being guarded by the Vampire Slayer herself which proved it to be more than safe. And besides, why the Hellmouth all the way in California? There was one in France, which was much, much more closer.

His boss had shot Draco a look when he asked all of these questions and told him that he was simply ordered to research on the Hellmouth, not to go close it down himself. Draco had shrugged, and obliged, knowing that his boss would have to tell him a bit more about it once he finished the project anyway.

So here he was.

Doing research.

Boring work, really.

…

Buffy Summers strolled down the corridors of the new Sunnydale High, surveying everything with wary eyes. It only seemed like it was yesterday that she torched this place, and now, here it was. She passed by the classroom where Dawn was having her Homeroom class, and she allowed herself a small smile as she remembered their little training session the night before.

After the whole Willow-incident, Buffy had promised Dawn that she would train her how to defend herself from all the baddies. Dawn had been more than excited. And last night had been her first real test. Dawn had _tried _fighting the vamp, really she did, but she ended up getting almost bitten after missing the vampire's heart by a couple of inches. Which wasn't so bad. On Buffy's first time out, she missed the heart too.

Willow on the other hand was in England, with Giles, on magic rehab. The young witch was more than regretful for all the things she had done, and had agreed whole-heartedly to go to England for a while to give her friends some space from her. They had been through a few rough patches, but Buffy will always consider Willow as her best friend.

"Buffy," a voice behind her called out. The Slayer spun around to see Robin Wood approaching her, a smile on his face. He was the new Principal of the new school, and the only reason he applied for the job was to keep an eye on 'things'. He was a freelancer. Quite a gifted one at that. Maybe it was because his mother was a Slayer.

"Hey Wood," Buffy greeted him. "Or should I say _Principal _Wood?"

Wood rolled his eyes. "Please don't call me that. It makes me feel so darned old."

Buffy giggled. "So, how's your day so far?"

"So far, so good." Wood said with a grin. "Hey, I was wondering. Since you don't have a job and all…"

"I _do _have a job," Buffy interrupted with a wry smile. "Vampire Slayer here, remember?"

"What I meant was, a _real _job." Wood clarified. "We're lacking some good guidance counselors here. And I was wondering if you'd take the job?"

Buffy's jaw dropped. Her? Counseling? "Um, Wood. Counseling plus me equals confused kids. I can't even give good advice to Dawn. And she's my sister!"

"Come on, Buffy. Getting the job would mean another pair of eyes on the look out for all the strange stuff. If you must remember, the opening to the Hellmouth is right in the basement which calls for some major precautions. And who better to watch over it than the Slayer herself?"

Buffy sighed. "I'm sorry Wood. But I just don't see it happening. And Dawn would be _horrified_ if she finds out that her older sister is hanging around the school doing the whole talking-to-kids-about-their-problems thing."

"But--"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Come on, Buffy."

"No."

"There are ghosts in the basement."

This got Buffy's attention. "_What?_"

"There are ghosts in the basement." Wood repeated slowly as if he was addressing a five-year old.

"I _heard _what you said," Buffy said impatiently. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"I just wanted to see if you'd accept the offer even if there _are _no bad stuff involved." Wood admitted with a grin. "Apparently, you didn't. And no," he added seeing the look on her face. "I'm not lying about the ghosts just to get you to work here. I met a few of them a few days ago. Just a few passing by. They didn't even sneak a glance at me. I don't think it's anything serious." He thought for a moment. "Although, ghosts or rather, _spirits_ wandering around the top of the Hellmouth is something to think about…"

Buffy sighed for the second time that day. "I have to agree with you on that. So…"

"So…?"

"I accept the job offer."

…

A/N: Review!!!! Oh, and are there any suggestions for pairings?


	2. Now You See Me, Now You Don't

A/N: Kisses to everyone who reviewed! I'm glad that everyone seems to be liking the story…anyway, about the pairings…sorry but I'm not really a fan of Dawn paired with any of the HP characters. They're a bit too old for her ya know…and I'm definitely giving the Buffy/Harry a thumbs up. Don't know about Draco yet…maybe he should just be paired with me…hehehe :-)

Chapter Two: _Now You See Me, Now You Don't_

It was ten in the morning and the Burrow was filled with excited chatter and much, much noise. Perhaps it was because of the additional five people that was the Weasley's extended family. The unusually large family were gathered around several tables that were pushed together by the boys, and they were halfway through their brunch. The twins were discussing their latest invention (they had put up a joke shop a few years ago, and it was doing tremendously well).

"We call it the _Color Changing Chewing Gum._" Fred announced proudly holding up a piece of gum that was colored pink. A normal color, in Harry's opinion. The Boy-Who-Lived watched in fascination as Angelina Johnson (Fred's wife) ate it without hesitation. Her face immediately began to change into different colors every ten seconds, and she was accompanied by laughs around the table.

"That was excellent!" Ron exclaimed through a mouthful of mashed potatoes after Angelina's face had finally gone back to it's normal color.

"Ron!" Hermione scolded. "Don't talk when your mouth is full!"

Ron rolled his eyes. "Yes, _darling._"

"Honestly, you two seem like you've been married for fifty years." Bill commented. Fleur Delacour instantaneously clasped her husband's hand as if to set them a good example. Harry snorted behind his napkin. He and Ron had been hearing some rather _strange _things coming from Bill and Fleur's room that made them wonder exactly what kind of examples they were setting inside there.

Harry caught Ron's eyes and they both grinned.

Out of all the Weasleys, the only ones who remained unmarried were Charlie, Percy, and Ginny. Fred was married to Angelina, George was married to Katie Bell, Bill was married to Fleur (something that Harry did _not _expect.), and Ron was married to Hermione.

The Weasley clan had grown quite a bit. And today was their little family reunion. Harry was there of course as a guest. He was, after all, considered family by the Weasleys whom he had lived with for a year after graduating from Hogwarts. (He had been granted full permission by the Ministry to live with the Weasleys, seeing as he was already 'of age'. And it wasn't like Voldemort was still alive.)

But after Harry had finally become an Auror. He had bought his own place. A small house near the Burrow which was kept away by magic from prying Muggle eyes.

"Is everyone done?" Molly asked, standing up from her seat and taking out her wand from her apron pocket.

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley."

"Yes, Mum."

"Alright then," Molly said, flicking her wand expertly. The dishes began to float up and they all made a beeline for the kitchen sink where they started to clean themselves.

"Tea everyone!" Ginny announced, beckoning them to the living room.

"We'll have to take a rain check on that one," George said apologetically. "Me and Fred, and our lovely significant others need to get back to work."

"Ditto on that," Bill chimed in. They all said their good-byes and the rest of them filed into the living room. Arthur, Molly, and Percy had remained in the kitchen, tidying up. They had barely taken a sip of their tea when a tiny pecking sound interrupting them. It was soft, but it was audible enough that everyone's head swiveled over to the window.

"It's an owl," Ron observed, staring at the tawny-brown screech owl that was pecking lightly on the glass window. A formal-looking letter was tied on it's leg.

"State the obvious, why don't you?" Harry said with a teasing grin. Ron mock-glared at him.

"Well? Isn't anyone going to let it in?" Hermione asked impatiently, curious on who it was for.

"I'll do it," Charlie volunteered. The owl flew in and rested on Harry's shoulder the minute the window was opened. Harry blinked at it, surprised. "It's for me."

"State the obvious, why don't you?" Ron retorted.

Harry untied the letter and saw that it was indeed addressed to him.

Harry James Potter 

_The Burrow's Living Room_

The official Ministry stamp sealed the cream-colored envelope. "It's from the Ministry." Harry informed them, and proceeded to read the letter.

…

"Thank you Ms. Summers," Dawn's math teacher, Ms. Cole, said after she finished solving the rather difficult equation on the board. She sighed with relief, and went back to her seat. She had been solving it for almost five minutes, and she had gotten the answer wrong more than once, which was quite humiliating. Man, she _hated _Algebra.

Ms. Cole went back to her lesson on exponents, and Dawn took this opportunity to zone out. So far, her first day of school wasn't so bad. She made a few friends, and she was liking the whole new look the school had gotten. New paint, new desks, new lockers…

"Hey." A voice hissed from beside her.

A boy with curly brown hair was smirking at her from her right. Dawn frowned. She could've sworn that seat was empty a few seconds ago. "Where'd you come from?" she blurted out without thinking.

The boy merely smiled, his deep brown eyes glinting with madness.

"From hell."

Dawn's eyes widened.

Then the boy vanished – completely.

Dawn screamed.

…

The basement was dustier than she expected it to be. It was, after all, a new school. Couldn't they have cleaned up the basement? Buffy grimaced as she walked right through a spider web. Luckily, there weren't any spiders.

After she had finished settling down in her new office (which she thought was rather spiffy), she had decided to check out the basement. Wood had been against it at first, telling her that she needed to be in her office in case someone needed some advice, but had agreed after Buffy had pointed out that 'It's the first day of school, no one will be wanting some counseling.'

So here she was.

Going ghost hunting.

She passed through a door and into a room where the floor wasn't cemented yet. Immediately, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and her slayer senses kicked in. _The entrance to the Hellmouth. _She thought, sucking in a deep breath. _It's here._

As if on cue, footsteps echoed behind her.

Buffy didn't turn around, but she fell into a fighting stance.

The footsteps grew louder. Buffy frowned. _Wait a second…do ghosts walk _that _loudly?_

"Buffy."

The Slayer spun around, fists clenched and ready, and found herself face to face with…

"Wood," she breathed, visibly relaxing.

The Principal chuckled lightly. "Did I scare you?" he asked, clearly amused.

"_No._" Buffy huffed. "I simply thought that you were a ghost."

Wood raised an eyebrow. "Ghosts rarely make a sound when they move. In fact, I'm fairly certain that they float."

"Well, I'm sorry that I didn't know that, Mr. Know-it-all." Buffy said sarcastically.

Wood shrugged, and glanced around the room. "This is supposed to be made into a storage area, you know." He informed her, placing his hands in his pockets. "But of course, there isn't really anything to store in here – yet." He turned to look at her. "So, see any ghosts yet?"

"Nope," Buffy replied with a slight shiver. "Although, I get a really bad feeling when I'm in here." She admitted. "Which really isn't much of a surprise considering that the entrance to the Hellmouth is right where your standing on right now. It's called the Seal."

Wood yelped and jumped back several steps.

Buffy laughed. "Hey, it's not gonna open up and swallow you whole you know." However, at the look of apprehension on Wood's face, she stopped. "Of course. Better safe than sorry."

…

A/N: REVIEW!!!!


	3. Tedious Research Work

A/N: SO sorry for the lack of updates! Writer's block and all that...anyways, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Chapter three's finally here so enjoy!

_Chapter Three_: _Tedious Research Work_

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_Good day! Sorry to interrupt you, as we know that you are currently on your weekend vacation, but Mr. Anderson wishes to see you now. He has an important matter to discuss with you. _

_Respectfully,_

Theodore Smith 

"Harry, care to share?" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow from his spot on the sofa. "Because you've got that really intense look on your face."

Harry looked up from the letter, and sighed. "It's from Smith, Mr. Anderson's secretary. It appears that the boss wants to see me."

"Now?" Hermione asked incredulously. "What about?"

"No idea. Dorey, here simply said that it was an important matter."

Charlie whistled. "Must be some really classified matter."

Harry shrugged. "Maybe."

"I can't believe you have to leave already!" Hermione exclaimed, throwing her arms around Harry. "I mean, you barely even got here. And it's been such a long time since you spent time with us!"

"I'm afraid I have no choice," Harry said with another sigh. "I'll probably lose my job if I miss this 'very important meeting'."

"That's too bad, mate." Ron said standing up and shaking hands with Harry. "Just promise us that you'll come visit us again _soon. _Alright?"

Harry chuckled. "Sure, no problem!"

"See you then!"

And with a loud pop, Harry had disapparated.

…

"You called me all the way here to do _grunge work?" _Harry asked, the irritation clearly spelled out on the expression he was wearing on his face.

Smith smiled nervously. "Well, ah, you see"

The sound of a door slamming caused the two men to look at the, well, door.

"Mr. Potter." Harry spun around to look at the man that had strolled into the room. He was short, and rather overweight. He was finely dressed in a crisp business suit, and his eyes sparkled knowingly.

"Mr. Anderson," Harry greeted, shooting Smith a look. The secretary knew when he was not wanted because he swiftly exited Harry's office, muttering something about 'needing a vacation.' "Please, sit down."

His boss obliged gratefully, seating himself on the black leather armchair in front of his rather, messy desk. If there was one habit that Harry had brought with him from his days at Hogwarts, that would be his habit of strewing things haphazardly almost everywhere – or anywhere for that matter.

"What did you want to talk to me about, sir?" Harry asked pouring his boss a cup of tea.

"Ah yes, about that. I am assigning you on a new task." Mr. Anderson smiled his thanks as Harry handed over the cup of tea. "We have received recent news that a certain wizard is currently in Sunnydale, California, home to the most active Hellmouth. And we have received news that this certain wizard is up to no good."

"A wizard?" Harry echoed. "Who?"

"A man by the name of Caleb Marcus. He was imprisoned in Azkaban several years ago for Necromancy, which is the practice of claiming to foretell the future by alleged communication with the dead. After exactly twenty years of doing his time in Azkaban, he was released, and freed of all charges." Anderson paused to let the information sink in. "And it isn't until now, ten years later, did he resurface. A certain contact of ours has informed us that Marcus is going to summon a demon – some sort of Bringer of Evil."

Harry's eyes grew wide. Bringer of Evil? That almost sounded like another Voldemort.

"Since you're an Auror – the best we've had so far," Harry blushed. "The Ministry of Magic has agreed on sending you to bring back Caleb Marcus, and put a stop to his evil doings. Of course, we wouldn't be sending you alone…"

Harry waited with bated breath for a familiar name. He surely wanted to work with someone who was easy to get along with – someone friendly to be precise.

"We're sending a demon hunter with you. His skills are beyond excellent, and he will, without a doubt, serve superbly in this mission. His abundant knowledge of demons will be deemed ideal for this assignment."

Harry nodded understandingly. He had heard of those people. They were supposed to be very experienced fighters and skilled in their field.

"…his name is Draco Malfoy."

Harry gaped. "_You've got to be kidding me!"_

…

"_You've got to be kidding me!" _Draco yelled at his boss. He had just presented his research work a few minutes ago, and had waited for some sort of explanation.

His boss had given him a new assignment which was to go to Sunnydale to bring back a wizard dabbling in the Dark Arts, something Draco knew a thing or two about. He was _nearly _excited to go complete this newly-appointed task when his boss dropped the bonus on him.

Harry Potter was tagging along for the ride.

His boss gave him an irritated glare. "I am most certainly not kidding, Mr. Malfoy. Now if you may, I have more important work to do. You shall be leaving first thing tomorrow morning, and it will be _Muggle _style. So dress appropriately, alright?" The elder man did not wait for Draco's response. He spun around in a billow of scarlet robes and disappeared through his office door.

Draco _almost _wished he was back doing tedious, research work.

…

A/N: Well now, tell me what you think and review!


	4. A Collision

Disclaimer: I don't own 'em.

A/N: SO sorry for the lack of updates. I just had a severe case of writer's block. Terrible, really. sigh Anyway, here's a new chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Especially those who reviewed the last chapter.

Chapter Four: _A Collision _

Harry took a deep breath as he stood in front of Mr. Anderson's office. Draco was supposedly inside there with Mr. Anderson, waiting for him to arrive. He didn't know why he was so anxious about all this. Draco had, after all, turned over a new leaf. And as he had heard from his boss, Draco was pretty much excellent in what he did. Demon Hunting.

_It is easier to forgive an enemy, than it is a friend. _

The statement rang through his head repeatedly and he allowed himself a small smile as he recalled his days at Hogwarts. Days in which he and his friends, mainly Hermione and Ron would bicker constantly with Malfoy. The hatred that he had felt for his ex-arch nemesis was still there, deep within him. He would never forget the insults that he had thrown at him and his friends. But that was the past, and this was the present. And Harry did not live in the past.

Alright, so he would probably never forgive Malfoy for everything that he had done, but the least Harry could do was be decent. That was the mature thing to do, anyway.

Taking another deep breath, he turned the rusted gold doorknob and walked in. The first thing that Harry saw was the back of a white blonde head. It turned almost immediately at his entrance. Harry's boss looked up from the paperwork he was doing and smiled. "I see you've arrived. Sit down and we'll discuss your assignment."

Harry sat on the only available seating left, which was a leather armchair, right beside Malfoy. A pair of steel gray eyes met his, and he was almost astonished to find the lack of animosity that used to glare back at him. Instead, there was a certain kind of neutrality. It was like looking into the eyes of a stranger. It was as if the two had never met.

"Excuse me for a moment," Mr. Anderson cleared his throat and gathered a few papers. "I need to get these to Theodore. I'll be back in a jiffy." He scurried out of the office with an armload of documents. That was when the silence between the two was broken.

"Potter." Draco acknowledged, arching an eyebrow. "I'll get straight to the point. Since we shall be working together for the next few weeks, why don't we call a truce?"

Harry's eyebrows shot up. Can you say, miracle? "That would have been about the first fabulous idea you had ever had, Malfoy." He remarked.

Draco smiled crookedly. "Remember Potter, I had offered before. Yet you declined it. Seems like your mind has changed, now has it?"

_Be decent, Harry. _He reminded himself. _Not. _"You're right. It changed the second I saw that you had gained a soul."

The emotion that passed over the other man's features was unreadable. And his smile vanished. "I have a soul, Potter. It may not be as flawless as yours, but yet, there it is. Voila." There was a drawl to his voice, and Harry stiffened involuntarily. He was getting a glimpse of what Malfoy used to be…only, there was authenticity. Which was yet another miracle.

Harry nodded, held out his hand and shook Draco's. "Truce."

"Truce." Draco echoed.

The door slammed shut and Anderson hustled back in.

"Now, here are your airplane tickets. You're flight is three o'clock this afternoon. Yes, you will be going there the Muggle way. Unfortunately, you cannot Apparate or Disapparate where a Hellmouth is located, nor can you use a Portkey. But yes, you can use magic. Owl me if you need anything, especially if something goes sideways…well, I think that's about it. Now go get some rest. You have a big day ahead of you."

…

"This is great, Giles. How'd you manage to snag first-class seats?" Willow asked as she sipped her iced tea. Her mentor smiled from beside her. There was a hint of pride in his smile, which made Willow blush.

"Well, I figured that you could use some comfort and relaxation." Giles shrugged. Then smiled again. "You did well, Willow. For someone who almost ended the world, you have done really well on your 'magic rehab' as Buffy calls it."

Willow grinned. "Well, I couldn't have done it without you."

But Giles had lost her attention, he was staring at something several feet in front of him. Curious, Willow peered around the corner, and saw a pair of guys, around her age, making their way down the passageway. "Who are they, Giles?"

Giles blinked rapidly. She seemed to have interrupted his thinking about – whatever he was thinking. "Er, no one. I just thought he looked rather familiar."

Willow shrugged and concentrated back on her iced tea, although her eyes strayed a moment longer on the attractive young man with tousled black hair.

…

Buffy scanned the crowd of people that bustled around the airport, looking for any sign of her best friend and Watcher. She was excited to see them again. It had been a long time…and she wanted to see if Willow was alright. She hated seeing her best friend in pain. And Buffy wanted nothing but happiness for Willow.

Which was something that may be difficult to acquire.

She was the Slayer, therefore, evil never strayed too far away. And evil always had a tendency to wreck her and her friends' life. _That's why a Slayer works alone. _The words echoed in her head. And although she knew that it was her friends' choice to support her – to help her fight the good fight…she knew deep, deep down that it was her friends' close ties to the Slayer – to _her – _that they were undergoing so much pain and suffering in their lives.

_All my fault._

"Look! There they are!" Xander's voice interrupted her thoughts as he pointed across the room were two all too-familiar faces were making their way towards them – smiles on their faces.

Buffy couldn't help but smile as well. It had been such a long, long time since she had seen Willow look so alive again.

Dawn was the first to run over to their friends, with Buffy and Xander at her heels. Being so preoccupied with the thought and excitement that two of the people she held so close to her heart were back home again, she didn't see were she was going and crashed right into another person.

"Bloody fucking hell."

"Oh shit! I'm so sorry!" Buffy apologized, shooting up from the floor and reached out a helping hand to the man lying in an ungraceful heap on the floor. He was about her age, with Spike-like blonde hair (only she could tell that his was real), and intense gray eyes. _Damn, he's hot. _The thought entered her head before she even knew it. But before she could even contemplate on that, the man took her offered hand and she automatically pulled him up to a standing position.

Brushing off the invisible dirt from his black button-down shirt, he smirked at her. "Well, since fate decided to bump us together. How about a name to go with that beautiful face?"

_British. _Buffy noticed before mentally rolling her eyes. Smooth ain't he? She thought with a grin. "I don't think 'bump' was the right word for that. More like, 'collision'." He laughed. "And my name is Buffy."

"Buffy?" He cocked an eyebrow. "What kind of name is that?"

She glared at him. "Well, let's see what you've got."

"Draco Malfoy," he said with a flourish.

She burst out laughing. "Draco Malfoy? And you think my name is bad."

He grinned, and was about to say something when they were interrupted by Dawn's shout. "Buffy! Get your butt over here now!"

Buffy glanced at her sister and smiled. "So _Draco, _I'll see you around?"

"Count on it," Draco said, disappearing into the crowd of people but not before flashing her one last charming grin.

…

"Hi Buffy," Willow said shyly as the blonde approached her slowly. Willow didn't know what Buffy truly thought of her recent addiction to magic – black magic to be specific. But the witch had a feeling in her gut that she had lost a small part of Buffy's trust. She had after all, hurt her. Not to mention Dawn as well.

"So you're alright now?" Buffy asked softly. Willow was surprised to see the gentleness in her friend's eyes.

"I'm alright now." Willow confirmed. Buffy's face split into a smile and she threw her arms around Willow in a tight hug. They embraced each other for a few more seconds before breaking away from each other. Willow could feel her eyes welling up with tears. She didn't deserve this. Buffy should hate her for all the things she did.

As if reading her mind, Buffy said quietly. "It's all over now Will. Let's just – put in the past."

Willow nodded and hugged her again.

They broke apart when _someone _cleared his throat behind them. Buffy grinned at the man standing beside Xander, who wore a similar expression on his face. Buffy gave him a good once-over. "Still in tweed, Giles?" she laughed and hugged him – hard. "God, I missed you Giles."

"I missed you too Buffy – but please, air. I need air."

"Oops! Sorry!" Buffy laughed and released him. She glanced around at her friends. "So what do you say we go back to the Magic shop and do some catching up? I'm sure Anya would love to see you guys."

Giles and Willow exchanged a look. "Right. Anya."

…

A/N: Please review! They make me want to write more. :-)


	5. Something's Coming

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. And the last part of the story where I used conversations from the actual episode.

**A/N: Thanks SO much to everyone who reviewed!**

Chapter Five: _Something's Coming_

The next day, the Summers sisters went back to school. Classes for Dawn, and work for Buffy. But right now, Buffy was in no mood for guidance counseling. And it wasn't like she had any troubled and depressed students to attend to anyway. That was why she was now making her way down the steps that led to the basement.

She circled around the basement for a while, looking for anything suspicious. She went into the storage room and stared at the un-cemented ground for a few seconds, lost in memories of her past.

Her thoughts were cut short by the sound of incoherent mumbling. Slayer senses kicking in, and her curiosity building up a notch, she followed the sound of the noise. It seemed to be coming from another one of the storage rooms. Taking a deep breath, she pulled open the newly-painted red door.

It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the dimness, and when it did, she could only stop and stare at the figure seated against the wall. Although his hands covered his face, there was no doubting who it was.

"Spike?" she whispered, moving closer towards him.

The vampire's disjointed murmurs stopped, and slowly, he turned to look at her.

Buffy gasped. Scars trailed down from his face down to his chest, closely followed by black and blue bruises. His usually gelled hair now stood wildly on his head in a tangled mess, and it no longer was the peroxide blonde that it used to be.

Spike stood up and walked over to her, until they were standing face to face. She looked straight into his blue eyes and was unnerved to see a tinge of insanity flickering around them. It was evident that the vampire was currently not in his right mind. But he seemed to recognize her, because his expression transformed to one of utter sadness, and gently, he caressed her cheek.

Slowly, she reached out to touch the deep gashes in his chest. He immediately pulled his shirt closed. "What did you do, Spike?" she asked, unease lacing her voice.

Spike refused to meet her gaze. "I tried….I tried to cut it out."

But before she could question him further, her cell phone rung. "Hello? Oh hey Giles."

_The creatures wandering around the school aren't ghosts, Buffy. Neither are they zombies. They're called Manifest Spirits. They're raised to seek vengeance, and they're usually controlled by a talisman. I'm guessing it's the one Wood found earlier today. _

"Wood found a talisman?" Buffy asked, surprised. "How come I didn't know that?"

_Maybe because you were too busy worrying over Dawn. But don't worry, he already destroyed the talisman. _

"Does that mean all the spirit-thingies are gone?" she asked, relieved.

_Yes…Anyway, I was wondering if you could stop by the Magic Box later? _

"No problem." Buffy said. "Bye Giles."

She closed her cell phone and turned to look at Spike.

Only -- he was gone.

…

Night had fallen, and after checking into their five-star hotel, Harry and Draco had made the decision to do a little reconnaissance around the infamous Sunnydale, or should they say – Sunnyhell? It was half past seven in the evening, and the two wizards made their way down an empty street. Dilapidated buildings and seedy motels lined either side of the road, and they knew that they had entered the "bad part" of town.

Dressed from head to toe in designer Muggle clothing, Draco severely looked out of place among the others who wandered around in shabby clothes clutching half-empty beer bottles in hand. But Draco being the devil-may-care person that he was, didn't mind the suspicious looks people were throwing at him.

Harry had to repeatedly remind himself of the truce he and Draco had agreed to yesterday, or else he would've gotten into another nasty verbal fight with the other wizard.

"Where are we going again?" Harry asked.

"We're going to a bar called _Willy's._" Draco replied.

Harry frowned. "A _bar? _You've got to be kidding me. We're here to work, Malfoy. Not go and have ourselves a bloody happy hour."

Draco rolled his eyes. "We _are _going there to work. It's a demon's bar, Potter. And it's the perfect place to ask some questions."

Harry gave him a look. "And you expect us to just saunter in? We'd be digging our own graves!"

The blonde sighed. "It's not even eight yet Potter. The bar would be empty at this hour. Plus the place is owned by a mere human. _And _don't forget that we are highly-trained wizards capable of doing anything. Or did you forget that you killed Voldemort?"

Harry shrugged. He was right. But he'd wait for hell to freeze over before he'd ever admit that out loud. "Fine, let's go. How do you know about all this, anyway?"

"I have my sources, Potter." Draco smirked, just as they came to a stop in front of a shabby-looking two-story building. Graffiti blanketed the outer walls, and a rusted sign that said 'Please Come In' hung pathetically on the entrance door. Without hesitation, Draco pulled open the door and went in with Harry close behind him.

Harry wrinkled his nose in disgust the minute they were exposed to the bar's atmosphere. The whole place was a mix of smoke and alcohol. And the smell was so strong, it made his head slightly dizzy.

Aside from two people in gothic attire lurking near the back of the bar, the place was empty. Harry took one glance at them and knew that they were vampires. It was pretty evident from the mugs they were drinking from. The transparent containers revealed a ruby-red liquid that could only be – blood. Human blood.

Harry felt sick to his stomach. He glanced at Draco and saw that this didn't bother him one bit. _He's a demon hunter. _Harry reminded himself. _He's probably used to this kind of stuff. _They made their way over to the counter were a short brown-haired man stood wiping several glasses.

"Evening gents, what can I do for you?" he greeted them brightly. _This must be Willy. _Harry thought. "You guys new or something? I haven't seen you around before."

"Yeah, we're tourists from England." Draco said smoothly. "We're here to take care of some – business matters."

At the word 'business', Willy's grin faltered. And although it didn't disappear, they could see the faint trace of suspicion in his eyes. "What do you guys want?"

Draco smiled. "Some answers."

…

Somewhere underneath Sunnydale High…

Spike wrapped his arms around his legs as he leaned against the cool cement wall of the school's basement. Rocking himself slowly, he watched the shadows dance around him. His head was spinning. He could feel the coming of something big. Something dangerous. Something – evil.

And it sent him on an edge.

Thoughts of his precarious quest in Africa clouded his head, thoughts of the Slayer reminded him of what he had done, and thoughts of the demon returning his soul burned him. Every single inch of him. He had never remembered how painful guilt and regret was. They were like sprinkles of holy water on his skin.

And suddenly, Warren appeared before him, a deceitful smile on his face. Spike looked up slowly, head still in between his hands, clutching his overgrown locks.

"She won't understand, Sparky, won't she? I'm beyond her understanding. She's a girl. Sugar and spice and everything…

useless. Unless you're baking. I'm more than that. More than flesh."

Spike shivered involuntarily.

Then Warren rapidly morphed into Glory – the hell-goddess. "More than blood. I'm… you know, I honestly don't think

there's a human word fabulous enough for me. Oh, my name will be on everyone's lips… assuming their lips haven't been torn off. But not just yet. That's all right, though."

There was another shift, and Glory became the demon-cyborg – Adam. "I can be patient. Everything is well within parameters. She's exactly where I want her to be. And so are you, Number 17. You're right where you belong."

And again he morphed into another – Mayor Richard Wilkins. He grinned devilishly as he crouched beside Spike. The vampire turned to look at him. "So what'd you think? You'd get your soul back and everything would be Jim Dandy? A soul's slipperier than a greased weasel. Why do you think I sold mine?" He laughed callously. " Well, you probably thought that you'd be your own man and I respect that. But you never will."

The Mayor then faded into Drusilla. Spike's former vampire-lover. She smiled coldly, reaching out to caress his cheek. Unlike the real Drusilla, there was not a trace of insanity in her eyes. "You'll always be mine. You'll always be in the dark with me,

singing our little songs. You like our little songs, don't you? You've always liked them, right from the beginning. And that's

where we're going."

She stood up, and became the Master. "Right back to the beginning. Not the Bang, not the Word. Thetrue beginning. The next few months are going to be quite a ride and I think we're all going to learn something about ourselves in the process. You'll learn you're a pathetic schmuck… if it hasn't sunk in already. Look at you. Tried to do what's right. Just like her. You still don't get it. It's not about right."

And if Spike's heart would've been beating, it would've stopped right now just as the Master transformed into the Slayer – into Buffy. Her eyes gleamed in the darkness. "It's not even about wrong."

"It's about power."

…

A/N: Review! Or I won't update:-)


	6. From Beneath You, It Devours

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, nor do I own any of the lines that I used from some of the BTVS episodes.

**Thanks to: **laffinpebbles, wackycavegirl, cyndur, Damia - Queen of the Gypsi's, Danielle, and madskillzpro. **I luv you guys! Keep on reviewing!**

A/N: Oh, and tiny reminder. This is my version of BTVS' Season 7. And of course, a big thanks to all those who reviewed the last chapter. You guys are the reason for this next update. So – ENJOY!

Chapter Six: _From Beneath You, It Devours_

"That trip came close to being utterly useless," Harry said with a grimace, as he and Draco made their way back to the apartment. Unfortunately, Willy knew nothing about Caleb nor did he know anything about wizards. It was quite ironic how a town crawling with vampires and demons knew nothing about the wizarding world.

"Not quite," Draco said. "He did tell us about the Slayer."

"Which we already know exists and lives here in Sunnydale," Harry said with a shrug. "Not exactly useful."

Draco stared at him. "Will you use that bloody head of yours Potter? All we have to do is find the Slayer and she'll lead us straight to Caleb. We capture him. We bring him back to the Ministry. We get gold stars."

"Will you use that bloody head of yours Malfoy?" Harry mimicked, glaring at him. "Number one, we don't know where the Slayer is. Number two, she may not know _anything _about Caleb. And number three, we don't get bloody gold stars!"

Draco cocked an eyebrow. "I was joking about the last part, Potter."

Harry groaned and threw his hands up in the air in frustration. Sometimes, dealing with Malfoy was just as tiring as dealing with Gilderoy Lockhart, who, thankfully, had lost all of his memories years ago.

"We'll just have to tell her about Caleb, then. Easy." Draco said with a shrug.

"No we won't," Harry corrected him with a frown. "Caleb is a wizard. Therefore, he is strictly our business. Not the Slayer's."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. But I still think we should go and talk to her. She could have all the bloody answers to all of our bloody questions."

Harry sighed and gave up. It wasn't like they were getting anywhere, anyway. "Alright. Let's just do it tomorrow. My head feels like it's about to split into two."

"I agree, Potter. You obviously need your beauty sleep." Draco smirked.

"Shut up Malfoy."

"No, you shut up."

Harry mentally cursed his boss for sticking him with Malfoy. "Honestly Malfoy, we could go at this for several hours." But Draco wasn't listening to him, he was gazing at something far off in the distance.

A graveyard.

"I thought I heard something," Draco informed him. His steel-gray eyes flickered slightly as they scanned the cemetery across the road. Harry followed his gaze, trying to look into the dimness. The street was lit by nothing but one solitary lamppost, and it gave off an eerie glow with the color akin to that of a feline's eyes.

And that was when they heard it – a blood-curling scream.

"Shit," Draco cursed and broke off at a run, Harry at his heels. They darted past the wide-open iron gates of the Sunnydale Memorial Park, going off the walkway and onto the grassy lawn. The gravestones jutted up from the ground in an almost haunting way, the dim light allowing them to give off inconsolable shadows of grief. They were running many feet above numerous coffins. Coffins that held within them dead people.

A freezing chill ran down Harry's spine, but as his sight caught a young girl – no older than sixteen running straight towards them, he forgot all about being nervous to being defensive. His Auror sense kicked in, and automatically, he pulled out his wand. From beside him, he saw Draco do the same.

And that was when they saw them.

Four or five men – if they _were _human – clad in pitch-black robes, were chasing the terrified girl across the graveyard. And they were slowly gaining on her.

The girl skidded to a stop in front of the two wizards. Her face was covered with dried tears, and her skin was deathly pale. She trembling from head to toe. Frightened blue eyes stared at Harry. "Please – please don't hurt me."

"We won't hurt you. We're the good guys. What are those things? Chasing you?" Harry asked. The robed figures were nearing them, and he could see Draco preparing to attack.

"I – I don't kn- know," she stammered. Fresh waves of tears fell from her eyes.

"Quick, get behind us." Harry instructed, just as the figures came to a stop five feet from them.

"What do you want?" Draco asked, his voice flat.

They had no answer for the two wizards, their only response was to pull out long, and incredibly jagged knives from inside their robes. The dim light glinted against the sharp metal, giving it an even more dangerous effect.

And then they lunged.

…

The fight ended twenty minutes later. The robe-clad figures had retreated to wherever they had come from, seeing as they were no match for the number of spells and hexes the two wizards had cast upon them. Fortunately, none of them were severely harmed. Harry had escaped the brawl unscathed, Draco, on the other hand had a cut on his left cheek. It was not deep, but the demon hunter claimed it hurt like 'bloody-fucking-hell'.

Harry cast a healing spell on it, and the scarlet liquid that was quite a contrast against his pale skin, vanished. All that was left was an uneven line – a scar. "It'll disappear in a few days, Malfoy." Harry said rolling his eyes at Draco's incessant cursing.

Ignoring his 'partner', he turned to look at the girl they had apparently rescued. She was still shaken from the recent events, but much of the color had returned to her face. She had light brown hair, blue eyes, and she was wearing a pink shirt and faded jeans. Harry wondered why an innocent-looking girl like her was being chased by Dementor-look-alikes.

"I'm Harry Potter by the way," he introduced himself. "And the prat over there, is Draco Malfoy."

"T – Taylor. Taylor McKenzie." She stumbled over her words.

"Why were those things chasing you?" Harry asked gently.

Taylor neglected to answer his specific question, but she did give an answer that startled him.

"They killed my Watcher."

Draco's grumbling stopped. "What?"

"You're a Slayer?" Harry asked, surprised.

"A Potential Slayer," Taylor said in a small voice. "T-the Watchers Council's been destroyed. The last thing my Watcher and I heard from them was their advice to go straight here to Sunnydale – to The Slayer's house."

"Why?" Draco asked, exchanging confused and alarmed looks with Harry. The Ministry never told them anything about the Watcher's Council being destroyed. So it must have happened just a few days ago, when they had already arrived in California.

Taylor started to tremble once again. "Something's coming."

…

Buffy paced the living room floor with apprehension. It was almost midnight, and Giles had not yet arrived. He had left the Summers' house several hours ago, saying that he had some business to attend to – urgent business. He had promised that he would be back and tell them everything.

But he wasn't back – yet.

And the Scooby Gang were getting worried.

"What's taking him so long?" Buffy said out loud.

"Maybe he ran into some traffic," Xander suggested from his spot on the couch.

"It's eleven-forty in the evening, Xander. Traffic does not exist at this time in the night," Buffy said with a frown. "You don't think he ran into something, do you? Something – awful?"

"Are you trying to jinx us Buffy?" Anya asked crossly.

Buffy shot her a look. "No, but -- " she was unable to finish her sentence when a knock came from the front door. She let out a relieved breath and darted over to open the door.

"Giles what -- " she was again unable to finish her sentence when she saw that the person standing on their 'Welcome mat' was not Giles at all. In fact, it was someone that she was not expecting at all.

Because the last time she saw him, he had been slightly – delusional – terrified of something, he could not see.

"Spike?" He looked different. Almost like a normal person. Gone was the leather duster, and bad-ass façade. It was replaced by jeans and nice hair. She reminded herself that he was still a vampire, but the troubled look in his eyes – the guilt and regret she saw there, made him almost human. Almost.

"Buffy," he said softly. Regret filled his expression.

She heard commotion behind her, and she realized that her friends were now there. Both Slayer and vampire turned to look at them. Xander and Dawn wore similar expressions of distrust and anger, Willow simply looked surprised, while Anya was staring at Spike strangely.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Xander spat, his voice livid with rage.

Spike ignored them, gazing only at Buffy. "The Big Bad's coming," he said in a whisper. "I'm warning you. We have to prepare for the Big Bad. It's going to devour us all."

"Devour?" Willow asked nervously.

Spike took several steps backward, his eyes never leaving Buffy's. "From beneath you, it devours."

And then he took off. Buffy was about to run after him, but was stopped by Xander's and Dawn's grip on her arms. They refused to let her go. "No. We don't know what he's up to." Xander said distrustfully. "Right now, we have to wait for Giles. We'll deal with Spike later."

Numbly, Buffy nodded and followed her friends back into the living room.

Anya stayed behind, watching the dark night where the vampire had vanished into. Being a vengeance demon, she could see things the others could not. And she had seen something entirely new in Spike.

Silently, she made her way back into the living room, keeping her newly-found secret to herself.

…

Agonizing memories of that night when Spike had tried to rape her, tormented her to no end as they haunted her thoughts, her nightmares, her feelings…Buffy shook them all away, now was not the time to dwell in the past. They had more important things to discuss.

Giles had arrived half an hour after Spike had fled from the Summers' home. The Watcher had arrived with three Potential Slayers in tow. Kennedy, Amanda, and Vi. Right now, they were being told about the recent events. Events that they had no idea had occurred.

Giles currently sat in one of the armchairs, his expression troubled.

"What is it Giles?" Willow asked nervously.

"I'm afraid," Giles sighed. "I'm afraid we have a slight apocalypse."

You could've heard a pin drop from the silence that was the reply from Giles' blunt statement.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with Spike's 'From beneath you it devours', now would it?" Dawn asked anxiously, glancing at her sister.

Anya nodded. "Halfrek and I had talked about this the other day ago. D'Hoffryn, the Lower Beings…they're all feeling the heat. Something's rising guys, something older than the Old Ones. And everybody's tail is twitching. Halfrek said that a man arrived in Sunnydale a week ago. He's been stirring up some trouble…some of her friends told her that's he carries with him some powerful magic. Almost like Willow. Dark Willow."

The red-head winced.

Giles stared at Anya. "That's it. That's him! He must've been the one behind the Bringers' hunt for the Potentials and the destruction of the Watchers Council." Giles shook his head, while the others listened to him warily. "There's not a doubt that he's in contact with the First."

"I think I speak for all of us when I say 'huh'." Xander said.

"Giles, slow down please. What're Bringers? Why was the Watchers Council destroyed? And when your talking about the First, you don't possibly mean…" Buffy trailed off. She did not like the look in Giles' eyes. "Oh god. The First Evil."

It was then that Willow fell to the ground, gasping for breath. Giles and Buffy were immediately at her side. "Wills! Willow, are you okay?" Buffy asked, her eyes wide.

Giles, however, remained calm. This had happened before. Back in England. During her rehabilitation with the Coven. "What did you remember, Willow?" he asked gently.

The witch buried her head in her hands. "I felt the earth. It's all connected, it is. But it's not all good and pure and rootsy. There's deep…deep black. I saw… I saw the earth, Giles. I saw its teeth." She looked up at him, fear in her emerald-green eyes. "It's going to open. It's going to swallow us all."

"The Hellmouth." Buffy understood as Spike's words echoed in her head.

_From beneath you, it devours…_

…

A/N: I just love that line! Hahaha! And if you guys can remember some of the lines I placed in this fic (some of the stuff Anya and Willow said) were taken from the episode: "Lessons".

Anyway, REVIEW! The next chapter's all ready, and I'll post it once I get some reviews. :-)


	7. In Which Their Worlds Collide

Disclaimer: I don't own anythin'.

A/N: And as I promised to my reviewers…here's the next chapter! I know I should've posted this several days ago, but I had trouble logging in.

Chapter Seven: _In Which Their Worlds Collide_

"We're here." Harry said, glancing at his two companions. The girl – Taylor had been silent during their trip from Sunnydale Memorial Park to Revello Drive. She was obviously still shaken over everything that had happened minutes ago. She wasn't a Slayer, after all. She was just a Potential, and Harry doubted that she had that much experience, nor did he think that she had encountered any dark creatures before.

"Well, what the bloody hell are you waiting for, Potter?" Draco asked, impatiently. "Go ahead and knock!"

Harry glared at him before reluctantly knocking on the door three times. Footsteps sounded from the other side, and seconds later, it opened to reveal an elderly man wearing glasses and tweed. He stared at them with a mix of complete astonishment and suspicion. It was almost as if he recognized them – _or one of us. _Harry thought, following the man's gaze as they lingered slightly on Draco.

The blonde, however, took no notice of it. "Sorry to bother you at such a late hour," Draco said, sounding anything but sorry. (Must be a Malfoy thing.) "But I imagine that this is the house of the Slayer?"

Although the tension did not decrease from the man's face, he confirmed their assumptions without hesitation, speaking in an English accent that did not surprise the Auror all that much. The Watchers Council – or should he say, former Watchers Council? Was located in London, after all.

"Yes, yes. She is one of the Potentials, I presume?" he gestured towards Taylor who nervously nodded. "And you are…her Watcher?" he did not quite believe this.

"No," Draco answered for them. Impatience was laced in his voice. Honestly, Malfoys were not patient people at all. Maybe that was why they were so irritable to deal with at times. Harry noticed crossly.

"I believe you haven't introduced yourselves, yet."

"I'm Draco Malfoy," the blonde answered. There was shift in the man's expression the minute he heard his name. "This is Harry Potter and we happened to stumble upon this girl several minutes ago in the graveyard. She was being chased by a horde of robed creatures." He informed him bluntly. "She told us that she needed to go to the Slayer's house. So, here we are."

"The Bringers," the man whispered to himself. "However did you fend them off?"

"Maybe later," Draco said abruptly.

"Oh, of course. I'm Rupert Giles, by the way. The Slayer's Watcher. Perhaps the three of you should come in, first. And we shall," he paused. "Discuss this." He opened the door, ushering them in. He smiled warmly at Taylor. "Three of your fellow Potentials are already here, it would be best if you join them."

Giles led them into a living room filled with people. They were conversing in grave voices. But they quieted almost immediately when they saw their visitors.

"Draco?" The blonde girl standing in the center of room stated in shock.

Harry stared at his partner. "You know her?"

Silver-gray eyes widened almost imperceptibly. "Buffy Summers. You're the Slayer." Draco said, in realization. "From all the women I had ran into in Sunnydale, _you _were the last person that I would've expected to be the Slayer."

Buffy scowled. "What's _that _supposed to mean?"

Draco smirked. "Well, you don't exactly _look _like a Slayer, now do you? Short, blonde, and skinny?"

Harry noticed several of Buffy's friends hide their laughter, and so he decided to intervene before things could get violent. "Shut it, Malfoy." Harry said rolling his eyes. Then he turned to look at Buffy – the Slayer. "Sorry about that, you see, Malfoy has a thing for annoying the hell out of people."

Ignoring Draco's death glare, Buffy smiled at Harry. "Thank you, and you are?"

"I'm Harry Potter, and this is Taylor. She's a Potential." Taylor smiled timidly. She seemed to have calmed down in the presence of more people and light and less creatures and darkness.

"Are you her Watcher?" Buffy asked, disbelievingly. "You seem a little young for a Watcher."

"That's because I'm not," Harry said, tired of being mistaken for a Watcher. "Draco and I are – wizards."

"Wizards?" the redhead said excitedly. "That is so neat! I'm a Wicca!"

Wicca? The wizards exchanged a doubtful glance. They had learned about Wiccas and Wiccan magic in their Defense of the Dark Arts class back in Hogwarts. Wiccan magic was wandless magic that was pretty much very powerful – and dangerous. It involved rituals and ceremonies that were mostly rooted in darkness. Practicing Wiccan magic could easily pull you into the dark side. It was generally a form of black magic. One of the many in the area of the Dark Arts.

Draco was quite familiar with it, actually.

"You don't happen to have attended Hogwarts, now have you?" Giles asked.

Surprised, both of them nodded. "We have, why?"

Giles shook his head as Buffy and her friends stared at him in astonishment. "That's not important. Anyway, may I ask what you are doing here? In Sunnydale? Because I really don't think that you're here on vacation."

"We're here on an assignment," Draco explained. "The Ministry of Magic sent us to bring a wizard by the name of Caleb Marcus into custody." Ignoring their confused looks, he continued. "You see I'm a demon hunter, and Potter here is what we would call an Auror. Which, as you Muggles would probably call it, a police of sorts."

From every single person in the room, Giles seemed to be the only person to understand what they were saying. And that only ignited Harry's curiosity.

Buffy blinked. "Can you please repeat that?"

"No." Draco said with a smirk, earning a scowl from the blonde.

"What's a Ministry of Magic? And what's a Muggle?" a tall brunette guy said, bewildered. "Again with the 'huh'."

Giles sighed. "The Ministry of Magic is the wizarding world's government, so to speak. And a Muggle is a term for people with no magic in their blood."

"I guess that's me then," the guy said with a shrug. "Normal average guy, with an un-normal, un-average life."

"Shut up, Xander." Buffy said.

"I am wounded!" Xander said placing a hand on his heart. Harry laughed.

"How do you know so much about this, anyway?" Buffy asked Giles.

Giles rubbed his temples. "I used to have a friend who was a wizard."

"Whatever," Buffy said rolling her eyes. "Your social life isn't exactly what we had in mind for a topic. We should talk about the First and ask these guys what their so-called assignment is. They might actually be of help to us. Anyways," she smiled brightly at the two of them. "I'm Buffy by the way. I'm the Slayer. Draco and I met – or should I say crashed into each other? At the airport. Can you say, coincidence?"

Draco smirked.

She half-turned around and pointed at each person in the room, giving them names. "That's Dawn, she's my sister. That's Xander, Anya – she's a vengeance demon, Vi, Amanda, and Kennedy are Potentials. And that's Willow."

"Pleasure," Draco drawled. Harry could only stare at Anya – the demon. It was surprising how the Slayer could be friends with a demon. A vengeance demon, at that.

"Great, now that we're all acquainted, let's give everyone a rundown on the First. Giles?" Buffy prompted, before motioning to Draco and Harry to take a seat. They obliged gratefully, seating themselves on two vacant chairs near the Slayer.

Giles, who had been lost in thought, look properly startled. "Oh yes. Right." He browsed through the pages of a dusty, ancient-looking book, and wiped his glasses clean before starting off. "The First Evil or the original evil was the one that came before anything else. Before the demons, before the vampires – it was basically the one who introduced evil to the world."

Harry could not suppress the shiver that ran down his spine. If Voldemort had been bad…the First would probably be a thousand times worse.

"The First's plan is to kill off all the future Slayers and their Watchers, then annihilate the current ones, leaving nothing to fight the coming evil."

"So that's pretty much the Bringers' job. Killing off the Potentials, and probably me as well." Buffy realized. Harry had to hand it to her. She was as calm and collected as can be, leaving him to wonder just how much darkness the young woman had faced before. As what Harry had learned, Slayers were Called at a pretty young age. So Buffy had been fighting vampires and demons since she was fifteen or sixteen. Just like him.

It was strange how much they had in common.

"And as what we have discovered from these two gentlemen here," Giles said. "This wizard – Caleb, is the one behind all of this: the destruction of the Watchers' Council as well as the Bringers' hunt for the Potentials."

"That's. Just. Great." Buffy said sighing. Although her face was devoid of any emotion, those hazel-brown eyes of her, betrayed her sadness. "Another Apocalypse. Another big battle." She shook her head and buried it in her hands.

The rest could only watch her in silence, their thoughts wandering to the not-so-bright futures that awaited them.

…

After their little meeting, Buffy called it a night and sent all the Potentials and her younger sister (much to Dawn's protests) to bed. They'll continue on with the research the next day. And Buffy was eager to start training the would-be Slayers. It was vital for them to learn how to defend themselves as soon as possible.

"I think we'd better head on home, as well." Harry said, running a hand through his tousled jet-black hair. Buffy briefly noticed a scar on the center of his forehead. It was bizarrely-shaped. Almost like a bolt of lightning.

"Do you have a place to stay? Coz' you guys are more than welcome to spend the night here, if you want." Buffy suggested with a shrug. "We've got plenty of room."

Draco arched an eyebrow. "Stay with a bunch of hormonal teenage girls? I don't think so."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Whatever. But you'd better get your asses back here first thing tomorrow morning. Because the last time I checked, you guys hadn't finished your 'assignment' yet."

"No problem," Harry said with a warm smile. Buffy nodded and escorted them to the front door. "It was nice meeting you, Buffy."

"Same here," she smiled.

"Hey! What about me?" Draco asked, faking an injured look.

Buffy cocked an eyebrow. "I already had the pleasure of meeting you, Dragon-boy."

"Unfortunately, so have I." Harry said with a grimace.

Draco glared at him. "I wasn't talking to you, Potter."

Turning to Buffy, he graced her with one of those grins that made her stomach flutter, and much to her surprise, he took her hand and placed a kiss on top of it. "Sweet dreams, pet." He smirked at her flushed face before leaving Revello Drive with his highly-amused partner.

…

A/N: So, you guys can probably guess the pairing for this story? wink, wink! Of course, I'm still thinking to whom I should pair Harry with…suggestions? Just no Dawn/Harry please. That's just --- wrong. And just a little reminder: Harry and Draco are Buffy's age.

**Review! Please! I crave it! **


	8. Ice and Steel

Disclaimer: I don't own anything!

A/N: Thank you SO much for your reviews! Anyways, so I had 4 people rooting for the Harry/Faith pairing. Which is pretty interesting… you know, that would actually be fun to write. Plus, Faith is one of my favorite characters, so she'll definitely be in this story…hehehe…so, for official pairings:

Pairings: Buffy/ Draco, Faith/ Harry

Sorry for the Willow/Harry supporters, I just like Willow being gay more…although I can't think of a suitable pair for her…anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Chapter Eight: _Steel and Ice_

Standing up to their word, the two wizards appeared at the Slayer's doorstep early the following morning. Buffy, who was getting ready for work (something she had completely forgotten about, the night before) ushered the two Brits inside the house, hastily offering them coffee in the kitchen.

Dawn, who was eating breakfast, eyed their guests happily. It wasn't everyday that a girl like her had a gorgeous scenery while eating cold cereal. The Potential Slayers had long since departed for the Magic Box, courtesy of Giles. He suggested that they help him and Willow with the research.

Several minutes later, Xander arrived to pick them up. The two wizards, not too keen on doing any research (Giles had called earlier to ask if they wanted to help) decided to tag along to Sunnydale High and accompany the Slayer with her 'guidance counseling'.

"Buffy!" Dawn screamed at the top of her lungs, causing the three men to wince. Her sister had disappeared upstairs to hurriedly get dressed, and was taking too long in doing so. "I'm going to be late!"

The blonde Slayer bounded down the stairs carrying a nasty-looking sword.

"That's a nice piece you got there, Slayer." Draco said, eyeing the weapon appreciatively.

"Thanks," Buffy said. "I'm bringing this to Wood. Figured he'd like it. He has a thing for swords and stuff."

"Wait – you're bring _that _to school?" Dawn asked incredulously. "You're a guidance counselor, Buffy. People are _not _going to go to you for advice when they see you with that. Plus, you're totally going to ruin my reputation. It was bad enough that I screamed my head off in class after I saw that freaking ghost."

"Don't swear!" Buffy scolded, before letting Dawn's words sink in. With a sigh she placed the sword on top of the kitchen counter. "You're right. I'll show it to him later."

"Who's Wood?" Harry asked curiously. He was reminded of Oliver Wood – a fellow Gryffindor who used to be Quidditch captain and Keeper for the team. He missed those times.

"You'll meet him later," Buffy said, grabbing her beige leather jacket and shrugging it on. "Let's go."

"I thought you'd never say that," Xander said with a sigh.

…

"So this is where all the kiddies go to school." Draco said. It was more of an observation than a question as the three of them made their way through the now-empty corridors. The bell had rung five minutes ago, and Dawn had vanished into one of the classrooms.

He looked around in mild fascination. It was a far cry from the enormous, magical castle that was Hogwarts. And although both schools emanated with magic, there was a slight difference. Hogwarts was practically radiating with Light magic. The kind of magic that gave you a warm, fuzzy feeling in the pit of your stomach.

Sunnydale High, on the other hand, simply screamed darkness. Which wasn't so surprising considering that just below it was the entrance to the Hellmouth.

Buffy led them to the Principal's Office where a tall African-American man was polishing a dagger. This must be Wood. "Morning Buffy," he greeted her.

"Hey Wood," she grinned. "These are my friends: Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter. Their _wizards._"

"Wizards?" Wood echoed in surprise. "Well now, that's new." He smiled warmly at them. "Hey. My name's Robin. I'm a – freelancer, so to speak." He carefully placed his dagger onto its spot on the wall where various weapons hung. He then pressed a button on the wall, and wooden doors from either side slid close, covering everything. To anyone who knew nothing about it, would plainly think that it was billboard of sorts. Numerous papers were posted on top with colorful pins.

"So what's up, Wood?" Buffy asked. "Anything suspicious happening lately?"

"I don't know," Wood said, deep in thought. "I haven't checked the basement for a few days….but the janitor said he heard some unusual sounds down there, yesterday. I convinced him that it was just rats." He shook his head. "Care to see what's going on down there?"

"You guys up to it?" Buffy asked them.

Draco shrugged. "Better than watching you give advice to troubled teenagers, I suppose."

Harry and Wood burst out laughing. All of them were answered by the infamous Slayer-death-glare. "Alright, alright. That's enough. Let's go." Harry said.

…

The minute Buffy stepped into the basement, she knew something was wrong. The back of her neck prickled with warning. It was something she called her Spidey-sense. Wood flicked on the lights, and the whole room became dimly lit. Leading the way, Buffy brought them to the storage room.

She shook her head in denial the second she laid eyes upon the center of the room. The ground had been dug up, and the Seal of Danzalthar was clearly visible. Buffy looked away from the enormous round-shaped steel disc. Well, it looked like a disc to her, anyway. A disc emblazoned with numerous symbols that none of them could understand.

"How did this happen?" she whispered, mostly to herself.

"Caleb, no doubt." Harry said, his eyes stuck on the Seal. He couldn't take his eyes off of it. Just like he couldn't take his eyes off of the Dark Mark those years ago when it had lit up the sky during the Quidditch World Cup finals.

"Guess this explains the sounds the janitor heard," Wood said dryly. He turned to Buffy, his brown eyes dark with foreboding and slight fear. "You don't think – you don't think this Caleb guy is going to try to open up the Hellmouth, do you?"

The Slayer could only look at him in silence, unable to give him any answer.

…

Sunnydale, California. The town that had a startlingly high death rate. Which wasn't much of a surprise to those who _truly _knew about the town's background. You see, Sunnydale, California was built on top of a Hellmouth. Which was a portal to a rotted dimension, which, when unlocked, hell would be unleashed on Earth.

Sunnydale was pretty much ground zero for all things evil and nasty.

Those were just a few of things Draco had learned about before he had been assigned the unfortunate task of capturing a wicked wizard who was planning on unleashing hell on Earth because some ancient evil told him to. Alright, so it just wasn't _any _ancient evil. It was the First Evil.

The one who came before everything else. Blah, blah, bloody, bloody, hell.

"Can we please do something else besides _research?_" Draco practically yelled. The whole table jumped at his sudden outburst. After their lingering day in school, the Slayer had dragged Harry and himself to her house, telling them that they needed to research about the Bringers, about the Seal, and basically everything about the First.

They'd been going at it for almost three hours.

"Bored much?" Dawn asked, covering her mouth to stifle a laugh.

"And I thought that I'd be free of research once I got out of England," Draco said exaggerating a huge yawn. "Research work is unbelievably tedious."

"Easy for you to say," Kennedy chimed in. "We've been researching almost the whole day."

"I suppose we could have a break…" Giles said hesitantly. He rolled his eyes when everyone at the table cheered and made beelines for the kitchen and the TV, leaving the Watcher, the two wizards, and the Slayer at the table.

"I think I'm gonna go out and patrol for a while," Buffy said stretching her arms above her. She turned to Draco and Harry. "You guys wanna come?"

"Go ahead," Giles said dismissively. "Maybe I can actually get some work down around here."

Buffy shrugged and motioned for the two boys to follow her. They went to the living room first. Dawn, Xander, and Anya were sitting on the couch watching TV. "We're going out," she said, mostly to her sister. "Behave, Dawnie."

"I'm not a kid, Buffy." Dawn stuck out her tongue at her sibling.

Harry could not resist a laugh.

They were about to exit the Summers' abode, when somebody beat them to it. It was Willow. "Hey Wills, where are you going?" Buffy asked her best friend.

The witch grinned nervously. "I just got a call from Fred. I need to go down to LA for a while."

"By yourself?" Harry asked with a frown. "Is that wise?"

"It's only seven," Willow said glancing at her watch. "I'll be there in no time. And I'll just stay the night and come back tomorrow morning."

"Promise?" Buffy asked worriedly.

"Promise." Willow grinned and pulled out a crossbow from the backpack she was carrying. "Plus, I've come prepared." The redhead said her goodbyes before darting to her car and starting the engine. The three of them standing on the porch, watched as the bright glow of her backlights finally vanished into the night.

Buffy frowned. "Did she tell me _why_ she was going?"

Draco shook his head. "I don't think so."

Buffy sighed. "Never mind. Let's just go and stake some vamps. I'm getting kinda restless."

"Maybe I can help you with that," Draco said with an evil smirk.

Buffy flushed a light shade of pink. "Shut up, blonde-boy." She said before making her way to the cemetery in a fast pace. The two wizards struggled to catch up with her.

"Aw, come on Slayer. You know you want me." Draco taunted, his silver-gray eyes glimmering with mischief. He started to walk backwards, so that he faced Buffy. The Slayer stopped dead in her tracks. Draco did as well.

Harry, on the other hand, knew why she had stopped.

Draco did not.

Buffy leaned towards Draco, her lips almost touching his ears. And in a seductive whisper, she said: "Look behind you."

The demon hunter spun around and his eyes widened. A vampire was running towards them in full speed. Without a moment's hesitation, he pulled out his wand and yelled out a curse: "_Incendio!"_

With a shriek of agony, the vampire burst into flames and disappeared in a cloud of ashes.

Buffy grinned. "Impressive."

Draco licked his lips. "Not as impressive as you are."

Harry groaned and threw his hands in the air. This was going to be a _long _night.

…

Hidden behind the shadows of the crypts, a pair of ice-blue eyes watched this exchange in contemplative silence. It appears that the Slayer had found someone new. Strangely, this did not bother him at all. After what he did to Buffy…a brief memory of that fateful night flashed in his head, and a sensation of pain ripped at his heart…he didn't deserve her.

Not one single bit.

The vampire's gaze followed the three figures as they strolled down the graveyard, watchful and attentive of their surroundings. Spike had to hand it to the two wizards…yes he knew what they were, he could feel the magic radiate off them in vast waves…he had to hand it to the two, they knew how to handle things. It was apparent that they had some experience with dark creatures.

He could only wonder what they were doing here.

It was then that the Slayer chose to look towards his hiding place. On instinct, his mind yelled at him to duck and hide, but it was too late. She had caught his gaze. And he could no longer look away.

Her beautiful hazel eyes were filled with questions.

Again, a pang of guilt hit him straight in the heart. And without another thought, he stepped away from the crypt. Giving the Slayer and her friends a full view of him.

Spike held her gaze two seconds more before turning around and taking off.

Not knowing that she would follow him.

…

A/N: So you guys probably know about WHY Willow was going to LA…;-) Oh yes, and I promise I'll spill everything about Giles knowing about wizards and stuff, soon.

_**REVIEW!**_


	9. Mind Games

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. Glad most of you guys agree with my pairings. ;-) Here's the next chapter. Just a lil' bit of drama, guys. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter Nine: _Mind Games_

"Buffy?"

The two wizards wore the same bewildered expressions when Buffy neglected to answer them. That was until they realized that she was staring at something several feet behind them. Her hazel eyes had gotten that distant, faraway look, almost as if she was remembering something.

Draco turned around and followed her gaze. He was startled to see a man with platinum-blonde hair standing silently beside a crypt, his eyes fixated on Buffy. Two seconds ticked by, and that was when he turned and ran in the opposite direction. The night swallowing him almost instantly.

"I – I have to go," Buffy said, her voice cracking.

And then she took off after him.

Neither wizard made a move to stop her, for something in them told them that this was something that Buffy had to deal with on her own.

…

Buffy sprinted through the cemetery as quickly as she could, careful not to lose sight of the distraught vampire. A full moon shone brightly above her, illuminating the dark sky with its ghostly color. She came to a stop twelve feet away from a small chapel. Two lanterns blazed blithely on either side of the half-open double doors.

Without further thought, she walked in.

Her eyes traveled curiously around the chapel, taking in the haunting beauty of the sacred place. Three stained glass arched windows were on each sidewall of the chapel, and an oval, medieval painting of Mary and baby Jesus hung on the wall, dimly-lit by the moonlight streaming into the small chapel. A dozen wooden pews were arranged on either side of a central aisle. A large crucifix stood at the front of the chapel. Its design was unmistakably gothic.

But there was no sign of the vampire.

"Hello."

She nearly jumped out of her skin. Spinning around, she watched warily as Spike appeared from the shadows. He was bare-chested, and she could clearly see the scars marring his pale skin. Buffy drew in her breath and tried to catch the vampire's gaze. He looked away almost immediately. "No more mind games, Spike." She said, almost pleading.

"No more mind games. No more mind." Spike answered forlornly.

Fingers slightly trembling, she reached out to touch the scars on his chest. "Tell me what happened to you." She whispered. He flinched and recoiled violently from her. Then he looked her in the eyes. Torment was swirling in those sapphire-blue orbs. "Please, Spike. Tell me. I'm listening."

Again, he looked away. "I tried to find it, of course."

"Find what?" she asked, confused.

"The spark. The missing…the piece that fit. That would make _me _fit. Because you didn't want…" he slowly backed away from her. A tear dripped down his cheek. And then he started to cry. "God I can't…not with you looking…"

Buffy's heart felt like it was going to shatter into a thousand pieces. But she still couldn't help feeling confused. Spike was crying. How was that possible?

He turned away from her and walked towards a nearby window, gazing off into the distance. He looked back over his shoulder and at her, his eyes still full of torment. "I dreamed of killing you."

On impulse, Buffy's hand traveled over to her pocket, where she kept her trusty stake. Warily, she watched as the anguished vampire started to pace. "I think they were dreams. So weak. Did you make me weak, thinking of you, holding myself, and spilling useless buckets of salt over your... ending? Angel—he should've warned me. He makes a good show of forgetting, but it's here, in me, all the time. The spark. I wanted to give you what you deserve, and I got it. They put the spark in me and now all it does is burn."

Buffy could only stare at him in shock as realization dawned on her, and then her face contorted to one of heartache. "Your soul." She whispered in disbelief. _No wonder he's in so much pain…he's dealing with the guilt from his past. _

Spike laughed mirthlessly. "Bit worse for lack of use."

"How?" she finally managed to choke out.

Spike looked up at the ceiling. "It's what you wanted, right?" He pressed his fingers to his temples, and slowly walked towards the altar. "And -- and now everybody's in here, talking. Everything I did...everyone I killed…and him... and it... the other, the thing beneath you. It's here too. Everybody. They all just tell me go..." he glanced back at Buffy. "…go to hell."

"Why Spike?" she asked, her voice trembling. "Why would you do that?"

"Buffy, shame on you. Why does a man do what he mustn't? For her. To be hers. To be the kind of man who would nev -- " he looked away guiltily. "…to be a kind of man."

And without further hesitation, he embraced the six foot tall crucifix in front of him, murmuring strange quotes under his breath. "And she will look with forgiveness, and everybody will forgive and love. He will be loved."

His body started to sizzle, and smoke started to rise from his burning skin. Buffy could only watch helplessly from her spot several feet away from him.

"Can – can we rest now? Buffy…can we rest?" he asked desolately.

And that's when her tears started to fall.

…

TBC 

…

A/N: SO sorry for the incredibly short chapter, but I had to fit this in somewhere in the story. It's practically the same from the episode, with a few minor changes…And don't worry, Spike won't end up with Buffy. Although they'll become good friends in the story. **Please review.**


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: And again I say to you: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING.

A/N: Finally an update!

Chapter Ten: _Written in Blood_

The following night, a lone car could be seen driving through the empty streets of Sunnydale. It was smooth sailing until it passed by an old winery shrouded with trees on the left side of the road. Two figures dressed from head to foot in pitch-black robes emerged from the aging chateau, and stopped several feet in front of the speeding car.

"Oh goddess!" Willow gasped, her foot slamming on the brakes. But as they drew closer and the figures became clearer to her. She reversed her actions and stomped on the accelerator.

The dark-haired woman beside her shot her a shocked look. "Red! What the hell are you doing?"

"Bringers," she answered, her emerald-green eyes widening as the car sped faster and faster towards the creatures. Willow cringed as they rammed headlong into them. The windshield cracked from the impact, and the deafening crash that sounded above them told the two passengers that one of the Bringers had landed on the roof of the car.

"Swerve the car, Red!" Faith instructed with a shout. "Swerve it!"

Willow did as told and the creature fell from the hood and a pale, skeletal hand shot out from its sleeve and grabbed at the car's side mirror, making it its sole anchor. The brunette took one look at the hand and let out a string of profanities. Willow continued to veer the vehicle from left to right in an attempt to shake off the ugly creature.

It banged against the car several times, each with a sickening thud before taking the two passengers completely by surprise when its free hand shot through the window, smashing the glass into a million pieces. It tried to grab Faith, but the Slayer had taken its skeletal hand in a firm grip and had started to twist it around.

It was then that she noticed that it was clutching something. As if on cue, it dropped the piece of yellowing paper onto Faith's lap and let go of its hold on the mirror.

The Slayer huffed irritably.

"Nice way to welcome a girl back," she muttered crossly.

…

Everyone who was gathered in the Magic Box that night doing research (as usual, much to Draco's dismay), were all particularly startled when the front door slammed open and a redheaded witch came rushing in followed closely by someone they all had not expected. Except for Giles, maybe.

The silence was deafening, the only sound coming from the tiny bell above the entrance door, tinkling furiously from the sudden arrival of the two women.

"Faith?" Buffy asked, almost disbelievingly. "What are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too, B." Faith said sarcastically.

"She's here to help," Willow replied firmly, shooting the blonde Slayer a warning glance.

Buffy nodded curtly. Dawn, however, took none of it. The young Summers girl stood up from her seat and stormed out of the room. Her elder sister watched her leave and decided that it was wise not to follow her. Dawn knew everything that had happened between the two Slayers in the past, but that was just that. The past.

Faith watched her go impassively.

Willow cleared her throat nervously, trying to dissolve some of the tension. "We were uh, on our way home when these two Bringers crashed into our car. One of them managed to slip us this." She held up the rumpled piece of paper.

"A piece of garbage?" Draco observed in a lazy drawl.

Faith's sharp gaze swung towards him. "Who the hell are you?"

"Later," Buffy replied for him, her eyes fixed firmly on the dark Slayer. "Faith, Willow. Sit."

They did as told. Willow handed her the paper in which she immediately opened and read. Hazel-brown eyes widened imperceptibly, making the witch's curiosity peak all the more. And with the expressions that every one else was wearing, it was obvious that they too, were eager to know what was written on the small note.

"Spit it out, Slayer." Draco ordered.

Buffy didn't say anything, but she did toss the paper into the center of table where it instantly became the center of attention. Scrawled in childish handwriting were the following words…

_I have something of yours._

It was written in blood.

…

_TBC._

…

A/N: Uber-short chap, I know, I know. I'm almost done with the next one so CHILL! Review please!


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